Thanks again for reading and the great enthusiasm for these awards each year. For anyone new to this - this is not a vote or a poll; this is my own personal take on the music and news that I covered on MelodicRock.com over the course of 2013. These are my favourite songs, my favourite albums and whatever else...

In listing these artists and also handing out some awards, it is my hope as always that it will help remind folks of some music they missed or help them appreciate some of the artists behind the music for their efforts in 2013.
Enjoy the read and do let me know what you think!

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

W.E.T.Rise Up

Following up an acclaimed debut is no easy task, but these guys moved from a project to a band with this excellent sophomore release. A tougher, more cohesive album that contained some more stunning melodic rock songs.

Harem ScaremMood Swings IIThis has to be the best effort at re-recording a classic album/old material by any band yet. The guys captured the energy and vibe of the original and still managed to add a few little twists. And the three new songs were as stunning as possibly could be.

7th KeyI Will SurviveA sum of its parts more than individual highlights, but in the end it was everything that folks expected from the highly accomplished pair of Greer and Slamer. A more technical and progressive slice of melodic rock this time around, and so much depth to the production.

DegreedWe Don't BelongWith hardly any promotion and a label that disappeared soon after the release of this album, the Swedish lads still managed to push a genre forward with a highly addictive and memorable set of songs that helps modernize the classic melodic rock sound we all love.

The PoodlesTour De ForceProof that a band can still continue to learn and improve, even on their fifth outing. The band struggled with the album prior to this, but stormed back to the forefront of Scandi melodic hard rock here.

Magnus Karlsson's FreeFall - Magnus Karlsson's FreeFall

- Powerful, passionate and right in your face from start to end!

Eden's Curse - Symphony Of Sin

- From diversity comes the rewards...and EC storm back with their most melodic work yet.

Adriangale - Suckerpunch
- Great to have these guys back and .

Heaven & Earth - Dig
- The return of classic rock - in a truly classic sense. An epic album right out of 1977.

The Winery Dogs - The Winery Dogs
- You can teach an old dog new tricks! An inspired pairing of musicians here.

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House Of Shakira - Pay To Play

Steve Lukather - Transition

Vega - What The Hell

Find Me - Wings Of Love

Revolution Road - Revolution Road

The Theander Expression - Strange Nostalgia

John Elefante - On My Way To The Sun

Newman - Siren

Brett Walker - Straight Jacket Vacation

Faith Circus - Turn Up The Band

Covered Call - Impact

Stryper - No More Hell To Pay

Fergie Frederiksen - Any Given Moment

Crashdiet - The Savage Playgound

Royal Hunt - A Life To Die For

N.O.W. - Bohemian Kingdom

Burning Rain - Epic Obsession

Deep Purple - Now What?!

Sparklands - Tomocyclus

Jesse Damon - Midnight In The Garden Of Eve

Bai Bang - All Around The World

Laneslide - Flying High

Tainted Nation - F.E.A.R.

Tom Kiefer - The Way Life Goes

FM - Rockville

Fate - If Not For The Devil

Pretty Maids - Motherland

Black Star Riders - All Hell Breaks Loose

Coney Hatch - Four

Robin Beck - Underneath

Honorable Mentions: (in no particular order)

Dream Theater - Dream Theater

LRB - Cuts Like A Diamond

Guru - White

Hardcore Superstar - C'mon Take On Me

ColdSpell - Frozen Paradise

Code Of Silence - Dark Skies Over Babylon

Redrum - Victims Of Our Circumstances

Houston - II

Michael Schenker - Temple Of Rock

Bombay Black - Bullets And Booze

Edge - Heaven Knows

Mad Max - Interceptor

Human Fortress - Raided Land

Reckless Love - Spirit

Pink Cream 69 - Ceremonial

Gary Schutt - Moving Parts

Arc Angel - Harlequins Of Light

Snowfall - Cold Silence

Fair Warning - Sundancer

Jorn - Symphonic

Vertical Horizon - Echoes From The Underground

Starship feat. Mickey Thomas - Loveless Fascination

Ra - Critical Mass

Angelica - Thrive

James LaBrie - Impermanent Resonance

Daryl Braithwaite - Forever The Tourist

Rage Of Angels - Dreamworld

THE BEST METAL / PROG ALBUM:

Magnus Karlsson's FreeFall - Magnus Karlsson's FreeFall

Tainted Nation - F.E.A.R.

Dream Theater - Dream Theater

Royal Hunt - A Life To Die For

Human Fortress - Raided Land

James LaBrie - Impermanent Resonance

Jorn - Symphonic

Pamela Moore - Resurrect Me

Death Dealer - War Machine

Stormzone - Three Kings

BEST DEBUT ALBUM OF 2013:.....(New Band/Artist/Solo Debut, Not Project)

Alcatrazz - No Parole From Rock n Roll, Live Sentence – No Parole From Rock'N'Roll, Disturbing The Peace, Dangerous Games (Metal Mind)

Streets - Streets, Crimes In Mind (Rock Candy)

Various Titles - Swedish Metal Classics (EMI Digital Sweden)

Lou Gramm - Long Hard Look (Rock Candy)

2013 SONG OF THE YEAR

Harem Scarem - World Gone To Pieces

Classic melodic rock. Period. Brilliant, infectious and my most played song of 2013!

W.E.T. - Walk Away

Degreed - What If

Harem Scarem - Anarchy

Revolution Road - Shooting Star

W.E.T. - What You Want

7th Key - I Will Survive

Newman - Feel Her Again

Degreed - Blind Hearted

Revolution Road - Wings Of Hope

Royal Hunt - A Life To Die For

W.E.T. - Broken Wings

John Elefante - On My Way To The Sun

House of Shakira - Bending The Law

Find Me - Dancing To A Broken Heartbeat

Robin Beck - Wrecking Ball

Steve Lukather - Judgement Day

Degreed - Access Denied

House of Shakira - Pay To Play

Adriangale - The Black And Blue

The Theander Experience - Conception Of Life

7th heaven - We Live Life Young

N.O.W. - I'm Alive

Royal Hunt - One Minute Left To Live

Rage Of Angels - Over And Over

Eden's Curse - Unbreakable

Crashdiet - California

Degreed - Inside of Me

AOR - Secrets In The Shadows

Eden's Curse - Evil & Divine

Newman - Scar Of Love

John Elefante - This Is How The Story Goes

Faith Circus - Sunshine Radio

The Winery Dogs - Elevate

Tainted Nation - Never Promised You Anything

Steve Lukather - Do I Stand Alone

Bai Bang - Gonna Make It

Jesse Damon - Black Widow

Deep Purple - A Simple Song

Brett Walker - Reaching For The Stars

Covered Call - Lorainne

Gary Schutt - Half A World Away

Eden's Curse - Break The Silence

Rage Of Angels - See You Walking By

Faith Circus - Inside The Circus

The Theander Experience - Strange Nostalgia

Covered Call - When The Lights Are Out

Revolution Road - Pretending Hearts

Arc Angel - California Daze

Laneslide - Flying High

Dogface - Back On The Street

Fergie Frederiksen - When The Battle Is Over

Fergie Frederiksen - Price For Loving You

LaValle - Don't Cry

Reckless Love - Night On Fire

Dream Theater - The Looking Glass

The Poddles - Shut Up!

Coney Hatch - Revive

Covered Call - Hold On

Adgriangale - Could Have Been Me

Harem Scarem - Brighter Day

Seventh Key - The Only One

Heaven & Earth - A Day Like Today

Houston - I'm Coming Home

Revolution Road - Revolution Road

Adriangale - The World We Knew

Lost Weekend - Perfect

House of Shakira - Same Old Story

Dogface - Back On The Streets

Hardcore Superstar - Above The Law

Honorable Mentions: (in no particular order)

Steve Lukather - Creep Motel

The Winery Dogs - I'm No Angel

The Winery Dogs - The Other Side

The Winery Dogs - Not Hopeless

Angelica - Breaking My Heart

Angelica - Can't Stop Love

Angelica - Nothing Else You Can Break

Faith Circus - Turn Up The Band

Faith Circus - Restless Heart

Houston - Back To The Summer Of Love

Houston - Glory

Bombay Black - Helluva Time

Bombay Black - All The Same In The Dark

Bombay Black - Queen Of Denial

Bombay Black - Bad Boy

House of Shakira - Dopamin Junkie

House of Shakira - Two Things

House of Shakira - All You Want

Arc Angel - Harlequins Of Light

Adriangale - Believe

Adriangale - When I Said You'd Be The One

Black Star Riders - Kissin' The Ground

Black Star Riders - Bound For Glory

Black Star Riders - All Hell Breaks Loose

Burning Rain - Sweet Little Baby Thing

Burning Rain - My Lust Your Fate

Burning Rain - Our Time Is Gonna Come

Coney Hatch - Blown Away

Coney Hatch - Down & Dirty

Crashdiet - Cocaine Cowboys

Crashdiet - Change The World

Crashdiet - Got A Reason

De La Cruz - Turn It Up

De La Cruz - Legions On Love

Degreed - In For The Ride

Degreed - Black Cat

Degreed - Just Another Heartache

Diamond Dawn - Take Me Higher

Diamond Dawn - Cryin'

Diamond Dawn - The Hunter

Dream Theater - The Enemy Inside

Dream Theater - The Bigger Picture

Fate - If Not For The Devil

Fergie Frederiksen - Last Battle Of My War

Fergie Frederiksen - Candles In The Dark

Find Me - Road To Nowhere

Find Me - One Soul

Goo Goo Dolls - When The World Breaks Your Heart

Goo Goo Dolls - Caught In The Storm

Hardcore Superstar - C'mon And Love Me

Little River Band - Cuts Like A Diamond

Little River Band - Forever You Forever Me

Little River Band - The Lost And The Lonely

Magnus Karlsson's Freefall - Freefall

Magnus Karlsson's Freefall - Higher

Magnus Karlsson's Freefall - Heading Out

Magnus Karlsson's Freefall - On Fire

Code Of Silence - Dark Skies Over Babylon

Pink Cream 69 - Land Of Confusion

Pink Cream 69 - Wasted Years

Pink Cream 69 - The Tide

Place Vendome - The Power Of Music

Pretty Maids - The Mother Of All Lies

Pretty Maids - The Iceman

Pretty Maids - Motherland

Ra - Beautiful

Ra - Awake

Reckless Love - Bad Lovin'

Reckless Love - Edge of Our Dreams

Reckless Love - Dying To Live

Seventh Key - Lay It On The Line

Seventh Key - I See You There

Seventh Key - When Love Sets You Free

Sparklands - The Game

Starship feat. Mickey Thomas - It's Not The Same As Love

Starship feat. Mickey Thomas - Loveless Fascination

Starship feat. Mickey Thomas - What Did I Ever Do

Stryper - No More Hell To Pay

Stryper - The One

Stryper - Water Into Wine

The Poodles - Happily Ever After

The Poodles - Misery Loves Company

The Poodles - Viva Democracy

LaValle - Scared To Love

LaValle - Break Your Heart

7th heaven - Pages

W.E.T. - The Moment

W.E.T. - Learn To Love Again

W.E.T. - Rise Up

Royal Hunt - Hell Comes Down From Heaven

Vertical Horizon - You Never Let Me Down

Gary Schutt - A Million Miles An Hour

Heaven & Earth - Victorious

Heaven & Earth - No Money, No Love

Paris - Dancing On The Edge

Paris - South Of Love

Paris - America

Reece - Someone Beautiful

Human Fortress - Raided Land

Maxx Explosion - Devil's Locomotive

Maxx Explosion - Falling Away

Maxx Explosion - Don't Wanna Break

FM - Tough Love

FM - Only Foolin'

FM - Story Of My Life

Newman - Had Enough

Newman - When It Comes To Love

Brett Walker - What About You

Brett Walker - Better Than Goodbye

Jesse Damon - Garden Of Eve

Jesse Damon - A Chance For Us

Jesse Damon - Save Me

Guru - Straight To Your Heart

Tom Kiefer - Solid Ground

Tom Kiefer - It's Not Enough

Tom Kiefer - Cold Day In Hell

Tom Kiefer - Ain't That A Bitch

Eden's Curse - Symphony Of Sin

Eden's Curse - Rock Bottom

THE BEST MELODIC METAL SONG:

Dream Theater - The Enemy Inside

Magnus Karlsson - Free Fall

Tainted Nation - Dare You

Royal Hunt - A Bullet's Tale

Human Fortress - Child Of War

Death Dealer - Hammer Down

Timo Tolkki's Avalon - A World Without Us

Dream Theater - Surrender To Reason

Jorn - Traveller

Taberah - Burning In The Moonlight

THE BEST BALLAD:

Magnus Karlsson's Freefall - Stronger (feat. Tony Harnell)

Steve Lukather - Once Again

Robin Beck - I Swear The Nights

Heaven & Earth - I Don't Know What Love Is

W.E.T. - Still Believe

Steve Lukather - Right The Wrong

Fergie Frederiksen - How Many Roads

N.O.W. - Strong Enough

Robin Beck - Underneath

Seventh Key - What's Love Supposed To Be

Faith Circus - Tears You've Never Cried

Eden's Curse - Fallen From Grace

Bai Bang - How About Now

John Elefate - This Time

Jesse Damon - Save The World

2013 Best Artwork

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04 - 07.xxx

08 - 11.xxx

12 - 15.xxx

16 - 20.xxxx

2013 Best Promotional Videos

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2013 Artist Awards

VOCALIST OF THE YEAR:Fergie Frederiksen (R.I.P.) & Brett Walker (R.I.P.)
Fergie and Brett win for Vocalists Of The Year not only for their superb albums delivered this year, but for their career spanning influence on the melodic music industry. Both were friends of mine and both will be dearly missed.

GUITARIST OF THE YEAR:Thorsten Koehne (Eden's Curse)
A guitarist who I think is underrated when it comes to handing out praise for their work, so hopefully this recognition will go some way to correcting that. His work on the latest Eden's Curse record is simply stunning as is his efforts on the previous albums. Impossible to replicate!

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR:Mike Mangini (Dream Theater)
A sublime effort on the latest Dream Theater album, giving the band a renewed focus on songwriting and delivering a classic DT album with all the quality and feel of their best work.

THE 'ERIC RAGNO' KEYBOARDIST OF THE YEAR AWARD:Eric Ragno (Jesse Damon, Mecca, London, Redrum, Chasing Violets, Rockers For St. Jude)
Mr. Keyboards is now named the honourary title holder for future Keyboardist Of The Year Awards. So Eric, that means you have to let others have a turn now! Another awesome year for one of the best guys around.

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR:Alessandro Del Vecchio (Fergie Frederiksen, Revolution Road, Paris, Charming Grace, Code Of Silence)
Moving from Keyboardist Of The Year in 2012 to Producer OTY in 2013. And 2014 looks no less busy for the Italian maestro who is putting his stamp on a number of high profile projects - all of which have come up winners so far!

Tribute Albums - All Of Them! Down at the Whiskey: A Tribute to Mötley Crüe's Greatest Hits - 1981 - 2013; Still of the Night: A Millennium Tribute to Whitesnake; Fly Like An Eagle – An All-Star Tribute To Steve Miller Band; All-Start Tribute To The Who; All-Star Tribute To Supertramp.

Amaze Me - Guilty As Sin

Hedley - Wild Life

Berlin - Animal

Kingdom Come - Outlier

WORST ARTWORK:

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WORST PROMOTIONAL VIDEOS:

2013 WTF?

W. T. F!

Boston - underdone. That one word should sum that whole release up. My review was very critical, yet some others called for my 65% to be further reduced by tenfold! I did receive one single email in the album's defence - a lengthy letter outlining all the reasons why my review was too critical and the score too low, but nothing could ever change my mind there. I'm convinced it will be the final Boston release. Not even the cover art was worthy of the Boston name. Good one Tom!

Bret Michaels - if he's got any friends left after that last solo release I'd be surprised. I can't imagine anyone will ever be talked into future 'special guest' slots on any recording projects. Just get Poison recording again already!

FireFest - final fling indeed. Can't say I blame them. Busting your ass to put on a huge event like that with no financial backing or sponsorship and working within a finite pool of bands that folks will pay to see is a hard task. I should know! MRF4 will likely be the last one for a while also - not because it has/will lose money (not so) - but merely because the investment required to bring in bigger names is too much of a risk without corporate backing. Simple economics. It's a hell of a job to put together, so time for a year off.

I guess we know who won the battle of the Queensryche's!

7th heaven had their own brush with lead singer disease in the form of former Idol contestant Anthony Fedorov. They continue their search for a new long term frontman.

Yngwie Malmsteen issued his own version of history with his Relentless memoir, but the Anders Tengner written unofficial one is far better! www.amazon.com

Note to Jon Bon Jovi - you can run your corporation as you see fit, but don't expect fans to want to buy shares in your corp without question if your MVP isn't there - don't forget what made the corporation what it is today!

Is there a silly band name than State Cows? Please no more naming bands with farm animals.